A federal voting rights lawsuit against Keller ISD is moving forward, as attorneys for plaintiff Claudio Vallejo filed a brief opposing the district’s attempt to dismiss the case.
The June 12 filing argues that Keller ISD’s at-large voting system for school board members violates the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution by diluting the political voice of Hispanic voters.
Keller ISD declined to comment on the latest filing, citing pending litigation.
Vallejo, a Hispanic parent with two children in the district, claims the current election system prevents minority residents from electing trustees who represent their interests — despite Hispanic students making up nearly 25% of Keller ISD’s enrollment.
“A Hispanic candidate has not been elected to the board in 25 years,” Vallejo’s legal team wrote in the brief. “This lack of representation leaves Hispanic families without a voice to champion the needs of their children.”
The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth.
Vallejo’s attorneys, Brewer Storefront, the nonprofit legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, are seeking to replace Keller ISD’s at-large voting structure with cumulative voting — a system allowed under Texas law in which voters can allocate multiple votes to one or more candidates.
The plaintiffs say the model would allow geographically dispersed minority groups to combine their votes and elect representatives aligned with their views.
Keller ISD attorneys filed a motion to dismiss on May 22, arguing that Vallejo’s claim fails to meet the criteria set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986 for evaluating alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act.
That precedent established a three-part test, including a requirement that enough minority voters live in a geographically compact area to form a majority in a single-member district.
Keller ISD lawyers said Vallejo acknowledged he could not meet that condition.
Without that, the district’s attorneys argued, there is no valid Voting Rights Act claim.
“Only the U.S. Supreme Court can overrule one of its precedents,” district attorneys wrote. “And … there is no reason to believe it would do so.”
But Vallejo’s attorneys said those standards were never intended to apply to non-redistricting cases involving cumulative voting systems. They argue that relying on geographic compactness ignores modern patterns of community and voter alignment.
Vallejo’s lawyers argued that even if current legal precedent blocks their case, that precedent is outdated — and the Supreme Court should reconsider it.
The case arrived as Keller ISD faces a possible budget deficit and governance decisions have sparked debate.
The lawsuit references the board’s now-abandoned effort to divide the district in two — a plan that triggered public backlash, lawsuits and legislation from state lawmakers.
Vallejo’s attorneys said the Keller ISD split plan illustrated the district’s pattern of ignoring diverse communities west of Denton Highway, where most Hispanic families in the district reside.
Vallejo pointed to academic disparities: 51% of Hispanic students in Keller ISD met grade-level standards on recent state exams, compared to 69% of white students.
“This case seeks to ensure that the voices of Hispanic voters are heard and accounted for in school board elections,” said William A. Brewer III, counsel for Vallejo. “Cumulative voting offers a constitutionally sound, locally empowered solution that aligns with the values for which the Voting Rights Act was adopted.”
Keller ISD attorneys maintain that the lawsuit lacks a legal foundation and should be dismissed.
If the court denies Keller ISD’s motion to dismiss, the case could proceed to discovery and, potentially, trial.
Vallejo’s legal team is asking the court to block further use of the current voting system and require a more representative alternative.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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